Around the world, concussions are the biggest challenge in sport. As the 2023 AFL and NRL season kicks off here in Australia, we are seeing multiple class actions from former players and rule changes to extend the time out of the game players must take after getting concussed.
As such, we thought it was the right time to uncover an Australian company working on the problem of head knocks in sports – Hit-IQ (ASX: HIQ).
This is a tiny company – valued at just $5.5 million – but is working on a novel technology: a smart mouthguard. In a nutshell, Hit-IQ have taken a traditional mouthguard and inserted a number of sensors that measure every head knock allowing coaches and doctors a better way to measure at-risk players.
As they’ve tested the technology over the past few years, Hit-IQ report that 50% of concussions go undetected. That is a number they hope to take to 0% with their mouthguard. They have just launched their consumer product and so August’s reporting season will be our first look at how everyday athletes and parents are thinking about their smart mouthguard.
Whether or not it is a good investment, we think it is a fascinating company working on a hard problem. The perfect company for us to uncover.
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